Living in Limbo
by Asta Mae
Summary: A deep undercover operation gone wrong. Kensi is kidnapped and tortured after watching the team die and it's all Deeks' fault... Now a multi-chap.
1. Prologue

Her hands were tied behind her back. The cold cement floor was hard under her knees. A gag was hanging useless around her neck. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. The hair tie that held her back was long gone. She was covered in dirt and looked as if she had been dragged through thorns and trampled by a horde of angry bulls. Her clothes were torn and behind them each bone stood out in sharp relief.

She didn't even flinch when the first blow hit her. By now she had learned to block out the pain and the taunts. She had no idea if it was real or a figment of her imagination. She felt like she was trapped in some sort of sick nightmare.

She just wished she could die and end this humiliation. There was nothing left for her in this life. She had watched everyone die in front of her own eyes and it was all her fault. Her fault because she should have figured it out sooner. Her fault because she should have seen it coming. Her fault because she should have run faster.

She felt a burning sensation along her neck that set her skin ablaze. This was a completely new type of pain and her captors knew she wasn't oblivious to it. She shrieked as the knife carved patterns into her skin. This was a new type of humiliation and she would never give them the satisfaction of watching her cry. She held her tears in. She screamed in agony and kicked harder fighting her captors. The coppery tang of blood filled her mouth.

She turned her head to look at the floor, gasping for air. Warmth erupted under her skin as her blood vessels burst, forming delicate blood red patterns under her skin. The comforting arms of darkness started to edge into her vision. She gave one last blood chilling shriek as she passed out into the limbo world her mind now inhabited and she knew he wouldn't find her before she died…


	2. A Video in a Warehouse

**So this is Chapter 1 since the other was a prologue. The first chapter may have been a bit confusing but it'll be fixed in this chapter. Thanks to amblue36 for making me want to add some more chapters. This chapter is for you. :)**

The Bullpen had been blown up. Kensi was kidnapped. Sam had a broken leg. Callen had a gunshot wound to his arm. Deeks cover had been blown. All this had happened in the space of seventy two hours and Hetty was acting as if it was all peaches and cream.

Deeks frustration level was growing by the minute. He couldn't stand the sitting and waiting. It didn't help they were working out of an abandon warehouse, Hetty had managed to find amidst the chaos of the past few days.

Looking at the blonde computer tech, Deeks knew that Eric and his red head accomplice were finding it even harder to adjust to their new surroundings. Nell looked ready to go into cardiac arrest or possibly shoot someone. Probably Eric if she had too, Deeks guessed.

He put his head in his hands, resting them on his knees. It was his fault. His fault that the operation failed. His fault Kensi was kidnapped. His fault that the Bullpen was gone. Every mistake made in the past few days had been made by the weakest link. _Him_.

Hetty surveyed her Special Agents from the loft in the warehouse. As she watched she dissected each move and action. To put it simply; they were stressed and worried.

Sam was organizing and reorganizing his new desk and Callen's, his mouth turned down slightly at the corners. Callen was reading through stacks of thick reports, which if Hetty was correct, was information on drug lord, Arturo Campos. Deeks was sitting, head resting in his hands, his knuckles, ash white. Eric and Nell were arguing and assembling their software with the precision of experts and years of experience.

Hetty sighed, tapping her small fingers lightly on the cool metal bar in front of her. She knew Kensi's absence was affecting the team. Each member of her team was a misfit and a loner in their own way. That's why they worked so well as a well oiled unit. Losing one of their own struck a blow to their core. Just like the loss of Dom did.

Hetty knew her team and if she was correct, then they were worried the next time they saw their junior agent would be when she turned up, stone cold and decidedly dead. She knew it lingered on their minds, even though they knew this job carried higher risks than most others. The team blamed themselves for what happened; Hetty knew there were no doubts about it.

There were still questions left unanswered and Hetty was determined to get to the bottom of the situation. She had to find her junior agent. One agent in a year was more than enough.

Nell was ready to grab the closest gun and put a bullet or two into the next person that aggravated her. She was exhausted, frustrated and to make matters worse, her hip was hurting where she had landed after being tackled by Eric. She had to admit, she could have gotten off a lot worse, but she wasn't used to just brushing off the pain like Sam and Callen.

"So we have internet, the computers are ready to go, we're logged into NCIS databases and we have a makeshift LCD." Eric took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, still speaking. "It's not great…"

" Eric."

"…But it's the best we can do for now. I'm just hoping…"

"Eric." Nell's voice was more forceful now.

"…We don't have any big tech breakdowns. If we do…"

"Eric." Nell was starting to get impatient.

"…Then we're going to be in big trouble."

"Eric!" Nell was almost shouting.

"Yeah?"

Nell blinked furiously, hands on her hips. "If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed that someone just sent you a link to a video." Sitting down at a computer, she winced as her hip protested at the sudden movement.

Working his computer magic, Eric paused, his voice quiet. "Nell. I think you might want to fetch the team." Nell nodded. Eric couldn't help but give a slight grin as she gave what he liked to call her 'Nell Nod'.

Waiting for the team the blonde techie put the video on the LCD.

"Looks like we've got something." Nell said, twisting her small hands together. The three men raced to the computers.

"Tell us what you've got Eric."

"It's a link to a video with a hidden IP address. Nell and I are working on it but..."

Callen interrupted Eric. "What's the video of."

Eric pursed his lips, a thousand thoughts spinning through his mind. "Just watch it."

The video began to play. There was a brown haired young woman tied up on the floor of a warehouse. She looked like a living skeleton. Her bones stuck out in sharp relief. Her hair was matted with blood.

Then the men entered. Black masks covering their faces. Each member of the team could see the hulking muscles of each man. They began to beat the human skeleton lying on the floor. The woman didn't move an inch, even when the loud crack of bone sounded.

Nell's hands were pressed to her mouth. Sam clenched his hands into fists. Callen watched stoically not moving an inch. His face devoid of emotion. Eric cleaned his glasses with shaking fingers. Deeks ran his fingers through his hair.

He knew he should watch and find clues, but he couldn't do it. They all knew who it was. When the shrieking started, Deeks looked up. The woman was now on her back, a man kneeling over her. Her hair was tossed over her shoulder and Kensi's face was revealed.

It was their missing agent and Deeks' missing partner.

A silver glint in the hand of her tormentor, a shallow blood red cut and a blood curdling shriek of pain would forever be burned into Deeks' memory.

The torment didn't stop there. Her captor drew light patterns on every part of her body. Each line bought on a new shriek that reverberated in the very bones of each person watching.

Kensi began screaming, her eyes open wide for the first time in the video. She kicked and fought with every bone in her body but Deeks knew it wouldn't be enough. She spat blood out of mouth. Blood red patterns bloomed under her skin and even Nell knew that blood vessels had burst.

Kensi's eyes rolled back in her head, shrieking one last time before passing out. Her body going limp.

Deeks shuddered.

Hetty's voice broke the silence that had formed in the wake of the video finishing. "Mr. Deeks, come with me if you please. The four of you should go home. You need rest. It has been a long day. We have a lead and we can start working on it in," Hetty looked at her watch, "Seven hours. That will be at nine o'clock."

Sam opened his mouth to argue. "No arguing if you please Mr. Hanna. Miss Jones and Mr. Beal are almost asleep on their feet. You and Mr. Callen haven't eaten or slept in two days. The sooner you sleep and eat, the sooner Miss Blye will be back safe."

"What about Deeks?" Callen questioned.

"I have some questions for Mr. Deeks before he too can rest. Off you go now." Hetty's tone was final. There was no more arguing from the special agents before her.

The small woman led Deeks to a couch. "Sit please Mr. Deeks." When he was settled, Hetty asked the question Deeks knew she had been waiting to ask. "Start from the beginning and tell me where it went wrong…"


End file.
